"I truly believe we can double global protein production in the next 35 years"

Meet Hans Stein

Hans Stein

Bridging the protein gap

We all know that a growing population equals more mouths to feed. The big question is what we do we about it? While companies like DSM are working on entirely new protein sources like plant-based Canola, there’s still work to do in optimizing what we already have. One man thinks he’s found the answer and it could result in a 75% annual increase in protein production by 2050 - when an estimated nine billion of us will share this planet…

As a boy growing up on his family’s livestock farm in Denmark, a young Hans Stein enjoyed feeding the pigs. Today, he’s still doing it, the only difference is that the stakes are a lot higher.

As a professor at the University of Illinois and a DSM Nutritional Sciences Award winner, Dr Stein has been working to not only boost the protein available to humans by feeding pigs better; but to bridge this protein gap in a sustainable way.

“To produce more animal protein for humans we need to help pigs become more efficient at digesting and retaining nutrients,” he explains. “Until now, too many nutrients are excreted and effectively wasted.”

The scientific community has already been successful in helping pigs increase digestion of certain minerals like phosphorous. But boosting a pig’s ability to use energy and nutrients from high fiber ingredients has proved far trickier.

Until Hans looked East for inspiration…

China consumes around 50% of the world’s pork – and a large proportion of the world’s rice. What if the natural bi-product of rice production – known as rice bran and inedible to humans – could be used to feed pigs more effectively?

“There were lots of experiments, plenty of down moments and at times progress was slow,” he explains. But eventually Hans and his team found a solution – a fiber-degrading enzyme that gets added to the rice bran before being fed to the pigs.

It’s a huge potential step in bridging the protein gap and hopefully the first of many. “If we approach this challenge in a smart way I truly believe we can double global protein production in the next 35 years,” says Hans.

If population estimates are even remotely accurate, we won’t have a choice.

Today, DHA is a staple of infant milk formulations and found in everything from sports drinks to supplements – largely thanks to its ability to increase brain and eye function, as well as immunity to disease.